Truth of the Fourth Beast Explained
19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; Daniel 7:19
Exposition
Daniel could have inquired about the other three kingdoms but his primary concern was the fourth kingdom. See verses seven and eight for comments regarding it being dreadful and stomping its enemies. There has never been a nation on earth except Rome that meets the requirements of this chapter.
Daniel saw a beast coming out of the sea. John tells us in the book of Revelation that the waters out of which the beast rose was the sea of humanity.
Then the angel said to me, The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. Rev. 17:15
What John saw was a nation rising from a chaotic condition of many nations. It was out of this condition that the Roman power came. He had ten horns. The ten horns represent the l0 kingdoms over which she ruled: Sir Isaac Newton listed them in his book published in 1733 with the names by which they were previously known (see verse seven). Today we would identify them as follows:
1. Germany
2. Austria
3. Belgium
4. Holland
5. France
6. Spain
7. Italy
8. Switzerland
9. Portugal
10. Great Britain
This Beast had seven heads. The Roman Empire passed thru seven heads of government. The World Book Encyclopedia lists the seven heads of government that Rome passed through.
1. 7 Kings ruled for about 200 years
2. Consuls
3. Tribunes
4. Decemvirs
5. Dictators
6. 65 Emperors ruled in Rome for 5 centuries
7. Exarchs of Ravenna ruled for more than a century.
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. Rev. 13:7
Rome's long history was marked with the shedding of the blood of saints. Can anyone doubt that this belongs to the Popes? In 1208 Pope Innocent III warred against the Waldines and Albigines, in which one million perished. From the beginning of the Jesuits 1540-1580, nine hundred thousand were destroyed. One hundred fifty thousand perished by the inquisition in thirty years. In the low-lands, fifty thousand people were hanged, beheaded, burned alive or buried alive for the crime of heresy (Christianity). Within 38 years from the edict of Charles V, eighteen thousand were executed. The Popes tried to put down the reformation in Germany and Switzerland. The slightest acquaintance of the history of the Popes will convince us that this verse refers to them. The historian W.E.H. Lecky says, "The church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no protestant who has a complete knowledge of history." Rationalism in Europe Vol. 2 p. 40
Some historians have estimated that the persecuting hands of Rome have been reddened by the blood of fifty million saints. I doubt that anyone can come close to the exact number.
Click here for a complete FREE verse by verse study of Daniel Prophecy
Click here for a
complete FREE verse by verse study of Revelation Prophecy